How about this: "Steph wanted me to skate to R&J (as I'm reputedly alike young Leonardo, ha ha), but: 1. it's a tragic story and I'm not in such a mood, 2. it's tragically overused. So I decided to take a story of my buddy Eric, which is dramatic but not tragic and definitely not overused" .
This can be absolutely any reason, and I don’t think that we should guess or invent for it. Maybe he will tell about it at one of the fan meetings